


Triangles Are My Favorite Shape

by ienablu



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Everybody Lives, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 23:36:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1165942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ienablu/pseuds/ienablu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako and Raleigh extend an invitation to Chuck. Chuck doesn't stay afterwards, though Raleigh and Mako slowly realize they want him to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Triangles Are My Favorite Shape

**Author's Note:**

  * For [somethingsomething](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingsomething/gifts).



> For bloglikejaeger, and because of bloglikejaeger. 
> 
> The post that started this all out is [here](http://bloglikejaeger.tumblr.com/post/70051341235/how-does-yancy-feel-about-chuck-raleigh-mako-i-am), and we've been writing fic at each other for about six weeks now, but this fic is placed at the start of the universe, so little background is necessary. (Basically: everybody lives, everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.)
> 
> Also, while this is OT3, and the verse is OT3, at this point there is slightly more Raleigh/Mako and Raleigh/Chuck than Mako/Chuck. And although this is basically revolves all about sex, the sex is glossed over.

Raleigh collapses on Mako, panting heavily, her fingertips running up and down his spine. He reconsiders a moment later, propping himself up on an elbow, taking some of his weight off her. Mako is looking up at him, a smile on her face.

She looks beautiful, and Raleigh kisses her, because he can.

He looks over to Chuck, and wonders how much of his weight he can transfer over onto to Chuck before he gets yelled at. He wonders if kissing Chuck while doing it would make it easier.

But then Chuck just moves down to the foot of the bed, stands up.

"Well, that was fun," he says, bending over to pick up his clothing.

"You're leaving?" Raleigh asks. He rolls off Mako, and sits up. They haven't really discussed this -- hadn't discussed much beyond the basic premise.

"Looks that way," Chuck replies, muffled through the material of his t-shirt.

He still hasn't turned back to look at them.

It bothers Raleigh. Because he hadn't thought far enough ahead about whether or not Chuck would stay the night, and if he had, he would have assumed that the single bunk was too small for three people. But now that they're at that point, Raleigh's bed is starting to feel a bit cold. "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"And what I want to, _Rah_ leigh?"

Last time Chuck had drawled his name like that, Raleigh had wiped the smirk off his face with a kiss full of teeth and tongue. Now, he wants to temporarily smother Chuck's face with a pillow, and then fall asleep half on him. But Chuck is shoving his feet into his shoes, and he still hasn't turned around, and so Raleigh says, "Then I won't stop you."

"Good night, Chuck," Mako says.

Chuck turns to look at them, then. "Yeah," he says. And then he's gone.

Raleigh stares after him.

Mako sits up, and presses a kiss to Raleigh's shoulder. "We can get him to stay next time."

 

Raleigh and Mako have, in his opinion, a healthy sex life. Yancy sometimes teases that it's overzealous, and Raleigh always rolls his eyes, and bites back a comment about how Yancy is just jealous since he hasn't had a proper relationship in years.

She's been inside his head, they know each other, and so when she skims her fingers over the back of his knee, he doesn't have to hold in a giggle. He doesn't think it's very manly, but she grins, and that makes it worth it.

They know each other, and so when Mako had brought up the subject of extending an invitation to Chuck to join them, Raleigh had been open to the idea. He didn't know if Chuck would be, if Mako's attraction to Chuck was as one-sided as she felt it was, but, well, Raleigh would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little attracted to Chuck himself, as much of an asshole that he could be.

Mako asked, Chuck agreed, and Raleigh enjoyed himself far more than he was expecting to.

Chuck avoided them for the next few days, but after that, Mako asked again, Chuck agreed again, and Raleigh enjoyed himself again.

Afterwards, Raleigh rolls off Mako, and onto Chuck.

Chuck _oomphs_ , Mako giggles beside them, and Chuck grumbles a, "That really isn't comfortable, _Rah_ leigh."

Raleigh then twists onto his stomach, and makes sure to keep most of his weight on Chuck, pressing him against the wall. He's farther down the bed than the two of them, his right arm wrapped around Chuck's stomach, his left arm wrapped up Mako's side. His head is pressed against Chuck's ribcage, and in the cramped space of the bed Mako's chin is on top of his head. She runs her fingers over his drivesuit scars, and Chuck hasn't moved.

It's nice.

It lasts all of about five minutes, and Raleigh has fallen half-asleep before Chuck says, "Alright, get up now."

"Don't want to," Raleigh mumbles into Chuck's skin, and he feels Chuck goes tense under him. Raleigh presses an open mouth kiss to his skin.

"Raleigh," Chuck says, and there's an edge to his voice.

Raleigh wants to debate, try and convince Chuck that staying the night won't hurt, but Mako quietly repeats, "Raleigh."

Raleigh sighs, and shuffles so he's lying more on Mako, which allows Chuck to shuffle off the bed. Raleigh props himself on his elbow, half-up, and Mako is turned towards him. They both watch as he struggles to get his shirt and pants on.

They're both frowning.

But Mako doesn't try to convince him to stay, and Raleigh trusts her intuition. Still, Raleigh finds himself saying, "Good night."

"Yeah, whatever," Chuck replies. He doesn't even bother putting on his shoes, just leaves the bunk with his socks crumpled in one hand and holding his shoes with the other.

Raleigh lies back on the bed, and pulls Mako against him. "Next time?"

"Next time."

 

"We could tie him down," Mako suggests.

Raleigh nearly chokes on his mashed potatoes, and once he's cleared his esophagus he bursts out laughing. He doesn't clear it nearly well enough, and he starts choking again. It's really not pleasant.

Yancy sits down next to Raleigh, and starts whacking him on the back.

Raleigh coughs, and looks at Mako, who is looking completely unfazed. And trying not to grin.

"You okay there, bro?" Yancy asks.

"Yeah," Raleigh wheezes. He looks away from Mako, and finds himself looking towards the Striker Eureka table. Herc and Chuck seem to be in a heated -- if surprisingly quiet -- debate.

Yancy follows Raleigh's gaze. "Yeah, word is Chuck isn't taking too well to the possibility that the Sydney Shatterdome reopening may be postponed."

"We're reopening the Sydney Shatterdome?" Raleigh asks.

Yancy blinks. "You didn't know?"

"You did?" Mako asks.

They both turn to her.

She shrugs. "Sensei has discussed the matter with me, but he asked that I not speak of it."

Raleigh nods, then turns to Yancy. "How'd you find out about it then?"

"I have my sources," he says, in what he probably thinks is a mysterious tone.

"You're a gossip," Raleigh corrects, and ducks to avoid Yancy's punch. He pushes around the food on his plate, looks over at the Striker Eureka table, looks at Mako. "Why would the reopening be postponed?"

"Funds," Mako replies.

Raleigh enjoys the particular breed of angry that Chuck brings to sex. But he thinks he would enjoy some celebratory sex in the Sydney Shatterdome a bit more. "Isn't there some way we could do some sort of old-school bond drive? After all the funding and support going to the Wall, I'm sure there are plenty of wealthy people who need to save face. It might be nice." Raleigh nudges her foot, grins.

Mako hides a small smile. "I'll suggest it to Sensei."

 

It's pretty spectacular.

Afterwards, Mako lies down on Chuck, their breathing just off-sync.

The beds in Sydney are smaller -- Chuck is on his back, Mako is on top of him, and Raleigh on his side, squeezed in as close as he can get, to avoid falling off the bed.

Raleigh leans in closer, and kisses Mako. Deeply. She pulls back, and Raleigh leans down, kissing his way up Chuck's shoulder, up his neck. Chuck must have been as satisfied as they were, because he turns his head to meet Raleigh's kiss. Mako hums above them, running a hand up and down Raleigh's spine as she watches.

After a minute, Mako curls her hand so her nails trace down Raleigh's spine, and he leans back. And he watches as she takes her turn kissing Chuck.

It's calm, it's lazy, and it's nice.

After another minute, Mako pulls away, resettles herself on Chuck, resting her head down on his chest. She's turned towards Raleigh, and she smiles at him. He smiles back.

Ten minutes pass.

Raleigh is half-asleep when he feels Chuck shift beside him.

"Get up," Chuck says.

Raleigh blinks awake. Chuck is talking to Mako, who's already awake judging by Chuck's slightly uneven breathing. "Why?" Raleigh asks.

It came out a lot more accusatory than he planned, and Chuck goes defensive as he says, "Because I quite like my bed."

Raleigh doesn't say _But we like you in our bed_ , though Mako's expression is saying it quite clearly. Instead, Mako slides to the side, Chuck moves off the bed, and she sits up. Raleigh rolls onto his other side, watches as Chuck picks his things up with a practiced ease, and tries to figure out if there's anything he can say to make Chuck stay.

He can't.

Chuck leaves.

Raleigh sighs, and flops back down onto the bed, Mako taking Chuck's space towards the wall.

"I am getting annoyed," Mako says.

"He was happy, wasn't he?" Raleigh asks. "I mean, we're not reading him wrong -- he likes it here, doesn't he?"

"He is being difficult." Mako frowns. "We'll figure it out," she adds, nestling herself against Raleigh.

Raleigh didn't know he would want to, but he wants to. For now, he just pulls Mako in closer.

 

The next morning, Raleigh gets lost on his way to the cafeteria -- Yancy _insists_ all Shatterdomes have the exact same layout, but Raleigh is feeling uncharitable this morning because his brother is a liar who lies -- but finds there's a tray of food waiting for him.

He smiles at Mako, sits down across from her. He takes a bite of his eggs, and glances around.

"He's not here." Her mouth thins. "He left when I came in."

Raleigh wants to flop his head down onto the table. He takes another few bites of his breakfast, then looks at Mako, considering. "Maybe we're just not fucking him hard enough?"

Mako snorts, and claps a hand over her mouth, mumbling apologies. Raleigh finds it endearing. But after a moment, Mako seems to consider the suggestion. They are usually pretty equal in their attentions. Maybe if they turned more towards Chuck? Fucked him so hard into the mattress that he can't stand up afterwards?

There's a distant look on Mako's face, and a smile hovering on the corner of her lips. "It might work."

 

It works pretty well.

Chuck flops down onto Raleigh, murmuring half-gibberish half-explicatives into Raleigh's collarbone.

It's oddly endearing, and it warms Raleigh's heart. He looks over at Mako, and tries not to laugh. "I think we broke him."

Chuck grunts, and Raleigh feels him flick him in the side.

Mako just nods, a wide smile on her face.

"Shut up, Mori," Chuck grumbles, and at that Raleigh does laugh. But Chuck isn't moving, just shoving his nose into the crook of Raleigh's neck, half on him, half falling off the side to the wall.

Mako is on his other side, pressing in to keep from falling off the thin beds, and she reaches over, her fingers tracing up Raleigh's arm. He lifts his arm, and she moves in close enough he can wrap his arm around her back, pulls her in closer.

Chuck looks like he's fallen asleep.

A giddy part of Raleigh wants to high-five Mako, but he settles for pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She's already falling sleep, and soon Raleigh joins her.

It lasts half an hour, before suddenly Chuck is startling awake.

Raleigh's arm tightens on Chuck's waist, and it takes a moment for him to blink awake.

"Shit," Chuck says, loudly.

"What?" Raleigh asks, blearily, as Chuck starts shoving him. "What, no," he repeats, tightening his grip on Chuck.

Chuck twists out of Raleigh's grip, and starts down the bed.

"No," Raleigh repeats, accidentally dislodging Mako and losing the warmth to his side as he tries to pull Chuck back to the top of the bed.

"No, fuck off _Rah_ leigh, I've got an early morning meeting," Chuck says, trying to wriggle out of his grip.

Raleigh looks at Mako helplessly.

She stares into the distance for a second, then frowns, and nods. "I remember Sensei talking about a meeting with the UN head committee early this morning."

Raleigh sighs, and flops back on the bed dramatically. "You are being difficult," he announces.

Chuck is wobbling around. He turns and glares that them. "You are being fucking ridiculous," he snarls, shoving his foot into a shoe.

Raleigh's good mood evaporates. "Is that so?" he asks, voice dipping lower.

"Raleigh," Mako says, quiet, firm. She gives him a warning look.

Chuck is busy swearing, kicking his shoe off, and scrambling for his pants. His hands are shaking slightly as he pulls his clothes on, and his body posture is defensive, and his expression has shut down to something blank that Raleigh doesn't like.

Raleigh really doesn't understand why Chuck has a problem when he and Mako have made it glaringly obvious that they don't. "Enjoy the meeting," he says, in an attempt to make things less awkward.

Chuck just grabs his shoes and leaves barefoot. 

 

"I hate you," Chuck announces, as he collapses in the bench seat next to Raleigh.

"That's not very nice," Mako chides.

Chuck makes a face at her, and then gives out a grunt. "Did you just kick me?"

Raleigh huffs a laugh.

Chuck makes a face at him, and then puts a hand on Raleigh's food tray and slides it away from him, and starts to wolf down Raleigh's breakfast.

Raleigh lets him, because the fact that Chuck sought them out is a good sign, even if he's being an ass about it. He just gets up and goes to get another breakfast tray, going for more of the sausage patties and bacon.

He returns to see Chuck stealing a piece of bacon from a cross-looking Mako. He slides his own tray back away from Chuck, and sets the new tray down in front of Chuck.

Chuck makes a noise of surprise, and watches him suspiciously as he sits down. He just starts eating from his own tray, with a grunt that may have been a _thanks_ , and he doesn't comment on the fact Raleigh sits closer to Chuck than they had been earlier.

Mako smiles at them, then steals a piece of bacon back.

 

Mako settles down on Raleigh, with far more grace than Raleigh or Chuck usually manage.

They take a moment to rearrange, and Raleigh keeps on an eye on Chuck, to make sure that he doesn't start to make his way off the bed. He doesn't -- instead, he tries to get further on it, with him on the terrible edge position. Raleigh does the best he can, wrapping an arm around him, pulling him in further, letting Mako settle herself comfortably on him.

He watches as Chuck falls asleep with some ease, and Mako drifts off to sleep as well. Raleigh's sleeping patterns have gotten better than when he was on the Wall and an insomniac, but sometimes sleep doesn't come to him like it used to. There's a clock at the foot of his bed, and he watches as the minutes pass by. After forty-five minutes, his eyes get heavy, and he dozes off.

He wakes up fifteen minutes later, and begrudgingly shuffles Mako over to Chuck, as he heads to the bathroom.

When he comes back, Mako has taken his position against the wall, in his warm spot. Raleigh glares at her blearily, but knows better than to try and get his old position back. Instead, Mako being on her back allowed for Chuck to lay down on his back, and Raleigh settles himself on Chuck.

Chuck gives out a slight grunt, and grumbles in his sleep. After a few minutes, he starts shifting, turing them both on their sides, and Raleigh wraps his arms around Chuck's waist, repositioning them so he's lying on his back, Chuck lying on his chest. Chuck gives a sigh against Raleigh's cheek, but slowly stops fidgeting.

Raleigh falls asleep, a smile on his face.

Raleigh wakes slowly an hour later, nothing but cool air on his front. He frowns, but he hears Mako and Chuck talking, and Mako's hand clenches on his bicep, so he doesn't open his eyes.

"He will be disappointed when he wakes up and sees you've left," Mako is saying. After a moment, she adds, "I will be disappointed to see you leave."

"Sorry to disappoint," Chuck snaps. From the sound of it, he's in the corner of the room he throws his clothes to retrieve them more easily.

"We want to you to stay."

"Well maybe I don't want to stay."

"I don't believe that," Mako says, reasonable, with a hint of steel in her voice. "You would have left much earlier, if you truly wanted to."

"It's harder to leave when you two are both awake," Chuck says, quietly. His voice takes on a different quality -- something almost fond -- as he says, "He looks like a kicked puppy every time."

Mako huffs a laugh. "He doesn't want you to go," she says in explanation. "I don't want you to go."

Chuck doesn't reply to that.

"Chuck," Mako says, a quiet plea in her voice. "Think about it, at least."

"I usually do."

The door opens, and the door closes.

Mako lies back down.

Raleigh rolls over onto his side, rests his head on curve of her shoulder. "I don't know what we're doing wrong."

"We're not. Chuck is just..."

"Chuck," Raleigh concludes.

She laughs. "Yeah. But we wouldn't want him anyway other than that, would we?"

"Better communication?" Raleigh suggests. "Less argumentative?"

"You enjoy arguing with him."

"A little bit," Raleigh admits. He curls his arm around her waist, skimming his nails up her side -- his and Chuck's last argument had been on whether nails or fingertips tickled her more. "You enjoy it."

"A little bit."

 

They return to Hong Kong.

Chuck stays in Sydney.

Yancy is happy to see them again, though, and Raleigh spends the first night back consumed in a poker tournament with him, the Wei triplets and the J-Hawks. It gets vicious, fast, and Raleigh respectfully sits back, but Yancy is in it to win it, and it's nice. It's homey, he's surrounded by family, and Mako comes in to join and watch the game, calling out insults to Jin when he loses a hand, and it's nice.

It's not missing anything, Raleigh tries to tell himself.

Raleigh and Mako resume their healthy sex life, and there's nothing lacking with just the two of them -- they know each other well enough to know each other's bodies, and the sex is always great. Mako wakes up earlier when Raleigh now just wants to sleep in and cuddle -- while they always ended up in Raleigh's room when sleeping with Chuck (and then _not_ sleeping with Chuck), they now switch between their rooms, and Mako either coaxes Raleigh awake when they're in her room, or makes sure to get him up and say goodbye before she leaves when they're in his room.

It's nice, it's lazy, and after canceling the apocalypse, Raleigh thinks they're entitled to this quiet, and he plans on cherishing it.

It's been a week since they've returned from Hong Kong, and Mako has confided in Raleigh that they're looking at re-opening other Shatterdomes (the Tokyo Shatterdome at the top of the list there), and the celebratory sex is great -- there's nothing _lacking_ when it's just the two of them, but there is something _missing_.

"When's Chuck get back from Sydney?" Raleigh asks, nose pressed up against her hair.

"Two days."

Raleigh smiles, and the fact that Mako can immediately answer him gives him all the answers he needs. Almost. "Do we give him a day to readjust after the jet lag?"

Mako snorts.

Raleigh's smiles widens. "Good."

 

Chuck arrives in from Sydney mid-afternoon and immediately goes to his quarters and sleeps. 

They find Chuck in the Kwoon room at eleven at night, going through drills. His moves are sloppy, and Mako wastes no time in telling him this.

"Nice to see you again too, Mori," Chuck replies, slightly breathless.

Mako just shrugs, and pulls down a hanbo from the selection on the wall, and goes into an opening stance.

"How long have you been waiting to ambush me?" Chuck asks, going into an opening stance as well.

"How long has it been since we left Sydney?" Raleigh asks, from where he's standing at the edge of the mat.

Chuck turns to give him a dirty look, and in that moment Mako takes her first point.

"What are we playing for?"

Mako grins, wild and feral and competitive. "I'm sure we can think of something."

And Raleigh really wants to last through a five-point match, and a five point match of his own against Chuck, but the score is 2-1 and Mako scores her third point with the same flip move she beat Raleigh with, and it's just as sexy seeing her use it on someone else, and their heavy panting is loud in the quiet of the room and Raleigh just asks, "My room?"

"Yeah," Chuck says, from his position on the floor, legs splayed open. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"My room is closer," Mako points out.

"Sounds better," Raleigh says.

The sex is possibly the best they've had, and they can't go more than a round before they're all exhausted.

Mako falls asleep with her back against the wall, Raleigh sleeps at the edge of the bed, and Chuck lies almost diagonally across them, his head on Raleigh's chest and his legs tangled with Mako's.

 

Raleigh is woken the next morning to a kiss to his forehead and a soft, "Good morning."

He blinks himself awake, and looks up at Mako, grinning sleepily. "Morning."

Mako is already mostly dressed, just going for her navy button-up. " _Good_ morning," she repeats, a sly smile on her face.

"What?" Raleigh asks, before he sees her gaze flick down, and he registers the weight on his chest. He looks down, sees a slowly-awakening Chuck, then turns back to look at Mako. "I love you," he announces.

"The fuck?" Chuck asks, blearily, glaring. "Way to make a guy feel special, Ray," he says, pushing up against Raleigh, trying to get up, but Raleigh warps his arms around Chuck's waist.

Raleigh ignores the struggling, and continues beaming at Mako. "Did you plan for this to happen, or are you just that wonderful?"

"I thought there might be a few factors," she says. Her voice is even, but Raleigh can detect a hint of smugness, and she fully deserves it.

"What're you talking about?"

Raleigh looks to Mako, who nods. He turns back to Chuck, and smiles. "Good morning, Chuck."

Chuck stares down at him. "Oh," he says. His body goes tense. "Shit."

Raleigh just huffs a laugh, and turns his head to kiss Chuck's wrist. He catches Mako's gaze, and starts beaming again. "You're the best."

"Yes, Mako is the best, you adore Mako, Mako can do no wrong, you _love_ Mako, you--" Chuck cuts himself, eyes going wide.

Raleigh stares up at him. "Is that what this has all been about?" he asks, wondrously, as it falls into place.

"No," Chuck says, quickly. He manages to dislodge Raleigh's grip.

Very seriously, Raleigh says, "I love you, Chuck."

Chuck rolls his eyes, and rolls off the bed.

"I love you, Chuck Hansen," he says, as Chuck makes his way to his clothes in the corner of the room.

Mako watches Chuck, before turning to Raleigh and mouthing, 'Full name?'

Raleigh grins at them both. "I love you, Charles Hansen."

"Charlie?" Mako suggests.

"Fuck off," Chuck replies, and he steps out of Mako's room.

"Chucky?" Raleigh calls after him.

Chuck flips them off, and disappears from sight.

 

Raleigh fears that Chuck would try and avoid them, but after dinner, he just shrugs when Raleigh and Mako approach.

They return to Mako's room again, because Raleigh thinks it's good luck, and Raleigh thinks that they'll need it.

Mako and Raleigh take turns kissing Chuck until he's breathless, before Raleigh traces kisses down Mako's jaw.

Chuck takes the opportunity to pull his shirt off, and he throws it to his corner of the room.

And Raleigh tackles him to the bed, and then pins him down. While Mako settles herself on the bed between them and the wall, Raleigh returns to kissing him as thoroughly as he can. Chuck makes an appreciative noise in the back of his throat, then makes a keening noise as Raleigh pulls back.

"Before we go any farther, I--" Raleigh looks to Mako, and she nods. "We need to know -- are you going to be here tomorrow morning?"

Chuck sighs. "Any reason you keep harping on the subject?" he asks, shifting under him.

"Yeah," Raleigh replies. "It's alright if you want to keep this arrangement between the three of us casual. We'll respect whatever you say. But it hasn't been casual, not for us, not for a while."

"You don't love me," Chuck says, challengingly.

And Raleigh doesn't, not like how he loves Mako. "But I'm starting to."

"We're," Mako corrects.

Raleigh nods. "And we want you to give us the chance to."

Chuck fidgets again. His gaze goes past Raleigh to the ceiling, and his breathing quickens.

Mako's hand settles on Raleigh's shoulder, squeezes, and they wait.

"I--" Chuck swallows. His voice wavers as he says, "I think I'd like that."

Raleigh looks excitedly at Mako. "Yeah?"

Chuck nods, closes his eyes. "Yeah."

Raleigh kisses him.

Then he pulls back, sitting up fully.

Then Mako leans over, and kisses Chuck.

And then Raleigh high-fives Mako.

Chuck makes a disgusted noise. "What have I gotten myself into?"

It takes Raleigh a few moments to struggle out of his shirt. "The best sex of your life," he says, grinning.

 

And it is.

And afterwards, Chuck settles into bed and doesn't move to leave.


End file.
